My First Season

Very excited for my next guest as he is the first guest on the show to have worked for Club Med in the 1970’s. He is from Montreal and when he applied to Club Med, they sent him to Europe for his very first season (I know, right?!) His first season was in Club Med Porto Petro in Majorca, Spain in 1978 as a Sailing G.O. Everyone, please welcome, Tim Purcell! Tim worked about 8 seasons in Club Med and in only his second season, he opened the village of Eleuthera in the Bahamas! Tim also worked at Cancun, Playa Blanca, Mauritius and Noumea to name a few. We talk about these seasons as well, so I hope you enjoy this episode. *There were some audio/connection issues during taping, so apologies in advance. Listen here or wherever you get your podcasts.

My guest today is the only EXGO I know and worked with who became a commercial pilot after Club Med. He has been on the show before, so please welcome Frontier Airlines First Officer, Nick Margellos! Nick takes us back to when he first thought about becoming a pilot and the many steps, hours and dedication it took to eventually becoming a commercial pilot. He started his journey to becoming a pilot at ATP Flight School in Las Vegas, then becoming a Flight Instructor and then onto GoJet Airlines as a pilot. After roughly 2 ½ years at GoJet, he went to Frontier Airlines where he is currently working. Nick was kind enough to answer all my dumb questions like can a novice land a plane without training and why do pilots always give me geographical updates when I’m eating the peanuts? In the course of the interview, we find out that Club Med does not have the market cornered on dumb questions and know-it-alls: aviation has their share of the same as well. Nick drew a lot of parallels with the scuba world (where he is an instructor) and the flight world, and he’ll tell us all about it in this latest episode. Please enjoy and listen here or wherever you get your podcasts.

My guest today and I met during her first season in Club Med Cancun in May of 2004. She was part of the Waterski Team and a fellow Montrealer. Everyone, please help me welcome, Jo Pilon! Before Club Med, Jo was a competitive wakeboarder and was a Quebec wakeboard champion. Jo grew up in a town on a lake with a small population and as a result, had a somewhat sheltered upbringing. Working at Club Med was a bit of an eye-opening experience for her, what with the 22 different nationalities that were present that season. She fully embraced the different cultures, age groups and lifestyles of her fellow G.O’s and is very glad for the experience she had, as it made it much more meaningful and rewarding for her. In this interview, Jo shares a pretty funny story about a trip to the nightclub Dady’Os one night and many more from her first season. After Club Med, Jo obtained a Master’s degree from HEC Montreal and is currently an Operations Manager. Please enjoy and listen here or wherever you get your podcasts.

Please check out her Instagram and give her a follow:

https://www.instagram.com/jopilon11/

My guest today and I started Club Med in the same year, but only met years later at an EXGO Reunion in Cancun. Her first season was in Club Med Punta Cana in October of 1994 as an Archery G.O. Everyone, please help me welcome, from Toronto, Ontario, “Sunny”! Sunny probably has the best G.O. interview story I have ever heard and that is because of the lengths she went to, to get a job in Club Med. I do not want to spoil a word of it, so you will just have to give this episode a listen to find out. As someone who is nicknamed “Sunny” you can imagine she liked everything about Club Med. She started going to Club Med when she was 11 years old. Her first Club Med as a G.M. was in the Mini Club in Ixtapa in the early 80’s. Sunny has many stories from her first season and she is kind of enough to share them with us. Sunny even kept up that traveling spirit long after she left Club Med. In 2017/2018, Sunny, her husband and 3 children went on a 10-month backpacking trip to 19 different countries, 5 continents and they stayed in 94 different places and traveled a total of 69,000 kilometers. She shares that story and how Club Med helped her develop her “purpose”.

**My First Season podcast has always been free to listen to and is available on: Apple Podcasts, Google Podcasts, Podbean App, Spotify, Amazon Music/Audible, TuneIn + Alexa, iHeartRadio, PlayerFM, Pandora and Listen Notes.

My guest today had his first season in Club Med Cancun in July of 1995 as a Sailing G.O. He is from Miami, Florida and before Club Med, he had a summer job teaching Hobie Cat sailing in Biscayne Bay. Everyone, please help me welcome, Larry Katz! Larry had his interview in Florida and then was sent to Cancun at a time when not many G.O’s were sent to Cancun for their first season. He tells a not-so-funny Hurricane Roxanne story-not funny because he was scheduled to leave Cancun the day the hurricane was to hit the Yucatan Peninsula. Larry loved his time as a G.O and took that work ethic to the filmy industry where he became a Second Unit Director or Assistant Director on movies such as Captain America: The First Avenger and X-Men: First Class as well as many more. Larry has agreed to share that story on my other podcast, Butcher Bay Rejects, and I will be posting that link for all of you to hear as well in the near future. Listen here or wherever you get your podcasts and please enjoy this interview with Larry.

If you want to hear Larry talk about his life as an Assistant Director on my other podcast, Butcher Bay Rejects, please see the link below:

https://www.butcherbayrejects.com/e/bbr-ep-42-larry-katz/

My guest today and I met in Club Med Coral Beach in Israel in  2004/2005 after her two-year stint in the Army. Her first season was in the French Alps, in Club Med Avoriaz in November 2002 as a Mini-Club G.O. Everyone, please help me welcome, Maude! She started going to Club Med as a child in the Mini-Club, so it was like a full-circle moment for her. Before she started working at Club Med, Maude was part of a socialist youth group that did volunteer work and were dedicated to bringing about change and equality to society and helping underprivileged children. However it was the group’s collective refusal to allow her to eat a waffle one day, that caused her to leave the group and sign on with Club Med (I’ll let Maude tell that story!). She also shares a funny story about a G.O in Coral Beach asking her to use her signature laugh as a ringtone and Maude nearly getting in trouble because of it. Maude also worked in Production on the Netflix original series “Hit and Run” starring Lior Raz (Fauda) that came out on August 6 2021.

**My First Season podcast has always been free to listen to and is available on: Apple Podcasts, Google Podcasts, Podbean App, Spotify, Amazon Music/Audible, TuneIn + Alexa, iHeartRadio, PlayerFM, Pandora and Listen Notes.

I had the pleasure of working with my guest today in Club Med Cancun in 2004/2005, which was her first season as a Boutique G.O. I was beyond shocked to hear that Cancun was her first season, because if you had met this person that season, you would have sworn she had been a G.O for about five years-she was just that awesome. Everyone, please help me welcome, Shannon (What!!What!!)! Shannon graduated with a double major at McGill University in Montreal and after her audition with Club Med that took place in Montreal (I’m going to find that video, Shannon!), she waited for almost a year until she was told she was headed for Cancun. Shannon is currently pursuing an MBA, which focuses on Disruptive Technology, at Ryerson University. **My First Season podcast has always been free to listen to. My First Season is available on: Apple Podcasts, Google Podcasts, Podbean App, Spotify, Amazon Music/Audible, TuneIn + Alexa, iHeartRadio, PlayerFM, Pandora and Listen Notes.

Please check out Shannon on Instagram and give her a follow:

https://www.instagram.com/shannelle_j/?hl=en

My guest today and I worked together in Club Med Paradise Island in 2003/2004 where she was the choreographer, but her first season was in Club Med Sandpiper in October of 2001 as a Reception G.O. Everyone, please help me welcome, originally from New York and Montreal (yes, I’m claiming her) and now living in Las Vegas, Gabrielle LoRe Seidenberg! Gaby had quite the journey to Club Med. She was working in Montreal, won a staff contest for a trip for two to Club Med Ibiza in Spain and then started working for BMW on the European leg of the Formula One circuit, before answering an open audition call for Club Med that took place in Montreal. We’ll talk how Gaby went from reception to choreographer and the culture shock of seeing so many men in Speedos in the main restaurant during her first season. Fair warning, Gaby and I teased each other quite a lot in Paradise Island (all in good fun) and I’m happy to tell you that she can still hit the ‘ole fastball 18 years later. Also, she’s married to the Coney Island Striker, so there’s that too. Listen here or wherever you get your podcasts.

Gaby also hosted the one-year anniversary episode of My First Season (February 8 2022) and was awesome!! Please take a listen!

https://www.myfirstseason.com/e/my-first-season-greg-gaby/

My guest today and I have worked together before in Club Med Cancun in 2004/2005 and he is someone you all know or have heard of. Everyone, from Vancouver, please help me welcome Jenner! Jenner has had quite the career in Club Med. Before Club Med, Jenner completed an undergraduate degree in Physiology at UBC and then obtained a Masters degree in Applied Physiology (department of Kinesiology) at SFU. He started his Club Med career in January of 1989 as an au pair Landsports G.O. at Club Med Moorea, Tahiti, but I will let him tell the story of how he ended up working there with another name you might know, Hammer. I thank Jenner for sharing his stories and taking the time to speak with me, because now he is pursuing a Ph.D. in Public Health (Epidemiology)!

**My First Season podcast has always been free to listen to and is available on: Apple Podcasts, Google Podcasts, Podbean App, Spotify, Amazon Music/Audible, TuneIn + Alexa, iHeartRadio, PlayerFM, Pandora and Listen Notes.

My guest today and I worked together in Club Med Turks & Caicos in Summer of ’94 (my first season), but his first season was in Club Med Playa Blanca in 1993/1994 as a Scuba G.O. He is originally from Minnesota and now lives in Denver. Everyone, please help me welcome, JohnnyScuba! Before Club Med, Johnny served in the United States Navy as a Gunner’s Mate aboard the U.S.S. New Jersey, an Iowa-class battleship. Johnny shares a lot of stories from his first season, as well as our season in Turks and when we met up again in Columbus Isle in January of 1996. Also uncovered during this podcast was that Johnny was the lead singer of an 80’s heavy metal cover band called…wait for it…Alien Force! (I swear to God Johnny, we’re gettin’ those t-shirts made!). Johnny is one helluva funny guy and you’ll get to laugh along with us. Listen here or wherever you get your podcasts.